Rainbow Dash
Rainbow Dash is a female Pegasus pony and one of the main characters in My Little Pony Friendship is Magic. She is responsible for maintaining the weather and clearing the skies in Ponyville. As a huge fan of The Wonderbolts, she dreams of one day joining their elite flying group. In Sonic Rainboom, Rarity and Princess Celestia both declare that she is the best flier in all of Equestria. Rainbow Dash has a pet tortoise named Tank, whom she chooses out of Fluttershy's offered animals in the episode May the Best Pet Win! She represents the element of loyalty.__TOC__ Development and character design Lauren Faust was inspired to create Rainbow Dash by her childhood toy G1 Pegasus pony Firefly. Rainbow Dash shares her name and color scheme with a fashionista Earth pony from G3 and G3.5, however, Faust gave her the personality of her favorite G1 pony, Firefly. Faust originally gave Rainbow Dash a cutie mark of two blue lightning bolts like Firefly's, which was changed to a single wide three-colored lightning bolt, and then to the current cutie mark design, a cloud with a slightly-curved three-colored lightning bolt. Hay yeah by fyre flye-d4axgxd.jpg|Development sketch. Lauren Faust G1 Firefly toy.jpg|Lauren Faust's childhood Firefly toy. Depiction in the series Loyalty In Friendship is Magic, part 2, Nightmare Moon tests Rainbow Dash's loyalty by creating an illusion of an elite flying team called the "Shadowbolts". The Shadowbolts offer Rainbow Dash a position among them, provided that she abandons her friends and their quest to find the Elements of Harmony. Rainbow Dash chooses to stay with her friends. When they confront Nightmare Moon in the Castle of the Royal Pony Sisters, Twilight Sparkle declares that Rainbow Dash represents the Element of Loyalty. Rainbow Dash's loyalty is tested in The Return of Harmony Part 1. Discord shows Rainbow Dash a vision of Cloudsdale falling apart in her absence, convincing her to abandon her friends in the Canterlot castle maze. In Rainbow Falls, Rainbow Dash faces choosing between flying with the prestigious Cloudsdale team and the Ponyville team at the Equestria Games' flying relay competition. At first she secretly practices with the Wonderbolts, but she finally decides to stay with the Ponyville team. Flight Rainbow Dash demonstrates her talent for flying throughout the show. In The Cutie Mark Chronicles, she says she got her cutie mark when she performed her first sonic rainboom when she was a young filly. In The Ticket Master, Rainbow Dash dreams of impressing The Wonderbolts at the Grand Galloping Gala with flying feats such as the "rainblow dry", the "super-speed strut", the "fantastic filly flash", and the "buccaneer blaze". She gets to meet the Wonderbolts in Sonic Rainboom after Princess Celestia declares her the champion of the Best Young Flyers Competition. She also performs the sonic rainboom in this episode. In May the Best Pet Win!, Rainbow Dash performs dangerous stunts to demonstrate a flying course through the Ghastly Gorge. She flies through giant bramble patches and dodges attacking quarray eels. Rainbow Dash clears a cloudy sky in Friendship is Magic, part 1 by kicking the clouds with her hind legs. She leads water drops out of a cloud in Boast Busters, and creates a rainbow above her when the droplets splash against her. She teams up with other Pegasus ponies in Winter Wrap Up to create a whirlwind that sucks away clouds and snow from Ponyville, and she creates a tornado to vacuum the parasprites in Swarm of the Century. In Hurricane Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash coordinates and leads the Ponyville Pegasi team responsible for creating a hurricane that lifts water to the Cloudsdale weather factory for the rainy season. During this time, Rainbow Dash's wing power was measured at 16.5, while most of the other Pegasi's wing power could barely measure more than 10. Rainbow Dash helps Twilight Sparkle learn to fly in Princess Twilight Sparkle - Part 1. Competitiveness Rainbow Dash describes her passion for winning in a flashback in The Cutie Mark Chronicles. She races several times with Gilda, her old friend from Junior Speedster flight camp, in Griffon the Brush Off. In Fall Weather Friends, Rainbow Dash loses a game of horseshoes to Applejack, and says she hates losing. She then challenges Applejack in the Iron Pony competition. In several rounds, she uses her wings to give herself an unfair advantage. During the Running of the Leaves, Rainbow Dash continues to use underhand tactics even though her wings are tied down. Applejack retaliates with tricks of her own, and both end up tying for last place. They realize that their competitive streaks got the better of them, and apologize to each other and Princess Celestia before amicably running the race again. In Rainbow Falls, Rainbow Dash comes to the conclusion that even though she loves winning, she loves her friends "waaaaay more." Self-confidence Rainbow Dash displays confidence in herself and her physical abilities in multiple episodes. In Boast Busters, when Applejack and Rarity criticize Trixie for showing off magic tricks and looking down on other ponies, Rainbow Dash adds, "Especially when ya got me around being better than the rest of us." In Sonic Rainboom, Rainbow Dash is confident about her performance in the upcoming Best Young Flyer Competition until Rarity's magical butterfly wings get a lot of attention and admiration. Despite her insecurities, Rainbow Dash successfully pulls off the sonic rainboom and wins the competition. In The Mysterious Mare Do Well, Rainbow Dash is venerated by Ponyville after performing heroic deeds around town. She basks in the attention of the townsfolk and her official fan club (led by Scootaloo) and becomes over-confident in herself. A mysterious cloaked pony starts one-upping Rainbow Dash's feats. Rainbow Dash eventually finds out that the cloaked pony was actually her friends in disguise, teaching her a lesson about keeping her pride in check. Brashness Rainbow Dash and Applejack snicker at Twilight Sparkle for running a race with them in Fall Weather Friends, calling her an "egghead" for joining a race with no prior running experience except reading a book on the topic. Upon seeing Rarity wear a scarf for a mountain expedition in Dragonshy, Rainbow Dash sarcastically says, "Yeah, that'll keep you nice and toasty." Later in the episode, Rainbow Dash expresses her annoyance and frustration when Fluttershy panics over minor obstacles in the trail. Rainbow Dash begrudgingly lets Rarity give her a makeover in Swarm of the Century with a frown on her face. When Twilight Sparkle tries to convince Rarity that she's not a laughing stock in Suited for Success, Rainbow Dash bluntly says, "She kind of is." Rainbow Dash calls a dragon lame after seeing one do a trick, but then gets her coat singed after nearly getting burnt by another dragon's fire breath. She also teases Spike in the same episode, but is scolded by Rarity. Mischievousness break their silence, Rainbow Dash tries silly faces.]] Rainbow Dash tries to spook her friends when they venture into the Everfree Forest for the first time, claiming that no pony has ever made it back out of the forest. Her reputation as a prankster is established in Griffon the Brush Off, where she and Pinkie Pie prank various ponies, and is further enforced in A Bird in the Hoof, when she tries to make the royal guards laugh. Rainbow Dash plays several pranks on her friend Gilda in Griffon the Brush Off, which were set up for Gilda's party, but are not specifically aimed at her. For the majority of the time when Gilda is visiting Ponyville, Rainbow Dash is unaware that the griffon is being callous and rude to the other ponies, but the pranks at the party get the best of Gilda, and she loses her temper in front of Rainbow Dash. After witnessing this side of her personality, she calls her out on her behavior and sends her on her way. Dash uses a cloud to create thunder and lightning to scare Spike in the same episode. She does the same to Pinkie Pie and various other ponies in Luna Eclipsed while dressed as a Shadowbolt, laughing at the ponies she frightens. She tells Twilight Sparkle that "this is the best night of the year for pranks" and that "it's all in good fun". She then hurries off to scare another group of ponies, which she continues doing until Princess Luna gives her a taste of her own medicine in the end. She also displays this in It's About Time, taking advantage of Twilight's worrying to spook her, along with Spike. In Bats!, she takes advantage of the stakeout to freak out her friends. Love of books Rainbow Dash discovers her love of reading in the episode Read It and Weep. When Twilight first offers her a book to read during her stay at the hospital, she rejects it and testily tosses away the book, saying "I'm a world-class athlete; reading's for eggheads like you, Twilight." After a short boredom montage, she picks up the book and becomes immersed in the adventures of the book's titular character, Daring Do. Not wanting to admit she is an "egghead", she hides her new hobby from her friends. When she is discharged from the hospital, she tries to sneak back in finish reading the book. She is chased and eventually caught, and she admits she was after the book. Twilight Sparkle lends her personal copy of the book to Rainbow Dash. The episode concludes with her finishing the book and excitedly picking up another one from a small stack, entitled Daring Do and the Griffin's Goblet. She reads more Daring Do books in A Friend in Deed and Too Many Pinkie Pies. In Spike at Your Service, she mentions that she's writing a novel, one which is about "this awesome Pegasus who's the best flyer ever, and becomes the captain of the Wonderbolts"; Rarity sarcastically comments on the complexity of its plot. In Daring Don't, Rainbow Dash is shown to have become as passionate about reading as Twilight; as they argue over whether or not to help the real Daring Do, they refer to the complex storylines of her books in detail. Shades .]] Rainbow Dash wears a pair of black-tinted glasses several times in the show; in Lesson Zero when Dash and her friends gather for a picnic, in May the Best Pet Win! when Dash states that her pet must have substantial "radicalness" and when she is questioned by Twilight Sparkle for not explaining the difference between "awesomeness", "coolness" and "radicalness", in The Mysterious Mare Do Well when she is bragging about her heroic acts, in Too Many Pinkie Pies while sunning herself by the lake, and in Rainbow Falls, while practicing with Spitfire and Fleetfoot. History Equestria Games announcement Rainbow Dash has a flashback in Games Ponies Play to an event in Cloudsdale where she is a young filly without a cutie mark. She is accompanied by a stallion who has similar rainbow-colored mane and tail as her and a similar blue coat, with a rainbow-colored cutie mark. They are standing in the crowd listening to an announcement about where the Equestria Games will take place. When Dash hears that the Games won't take place in Cloudsdale, she cries out in disappointment. This disappointment is somewhat assuaged later when young Rainbow was selected to carry Cloudsdale's flag in the Equestria Games opening ceremony. She later boastfully claimed in Flight to the Finish that she "did tricks with that flag the likes of which nopony saw before and nopony's seen since!" Cutie mark Rainbow Dash mentions in Call of the Cutie that she was the first in her class to get her cutie mark. She tells the Cutie Mark Crusaders in The Cutie Mark Chronicles the story of how she got her cutie mark. Her story is set in summer flight camp, where she defends Fluttershy from a pair of bullies, who refer to Rainbow Dash as "Rainbow Crash", which she is also nicknamed by Spike in Bridle Gossip. One of the bullies already have their cutie mark, where Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy do not. She challenges the two bullies to a flying Pegasus race, and in the ensuing contest she discovers her passion for speed and for "winning", in her words. Going through the race course, she performs her very first Sonic Rainboom, not only gaining her own cutie mark, but also inadvertently setting in motion the events that would cause Fluttershy and her future Ponyville friends to gain their own cutie marks. Sonic rainboom Rainbow Dash tries to perform a Sonic Rainboom in the episode Sonic Rainboom, in an effort to win the Best Young Fliers competition. Fluttershy confides to her friends that Rainbow Dash was unable to perform the move in her many practice trials. Nonetheless, Rainbow Dash heads to Cloudsdale to participate in the competition, accompanied by Fluttershy as moral support. Much to their surprise, their wingless friends have decided to follow them with the aid of Twilight's cloud-walking spell, easing Rainbow's fears. However, Twilight had also given Rarity beautiful wings, which led her to steal the spotlight. As a result, Rainbow Dash loses her nerve and tries to delay her performance. As the competition draws to a close, however, she decides that she must perform anyway. Dash messes up the first two rounds of her performance, hitting an obstacle and accidentally sends a cloud hurtling in the direction of Princess Celestia. Due to time constraints, Rarity performs alongside Rainbow Dash, and delivers her grand finale, which involves flying up to the sun and beaming her wings. However, her fragile wings, made of "gossamer and morning dew", burst into flames, sending her plummeting towards the Earth. The Wonderbolts try to save her, but Rarity kicks them by accident due to her falling down, and they are knocked out. Rainbow Dash finally notices the goings-on and accelerates towards the plummeting ponies, saving both Rarity and the Wonderbolts and performing a sonic rainboom in the process. Both this sonic rainboom and the one in The Cutie Mark Chronicles are performed when Rainbow Dash is leading with both front legs forward, while in her failed practice attempts she is leading with a single leg. Rarity is incredibly grateful that Dash saved her life, and apologizes to her friend not minding her anxiety. Rainbow Dash is crowned the winner of the competition and leaves off to spend the day with her heroes, the Wonderbolts. In A Canterlot Wedding - Part 2, bolting her bridesmaid dress off, she performs a sonic rainboom for the marriage of Cadance and Shining Armor by the request of Princess Celestia. This rainboom, unlike the other two, comes faster and is performed while flying upward. The Cutie Mark Crusaders Despite earning her cutie mark in an endeavor that came naturally to her, Rainbow Dash advises Apple Bloom to try out many different activities to gain her cutie mark in Call of the Cutie, leading the filly and her friends to pursue their cutie marks in the wrong avenues. When coaching Apple Bloom in Call of the Cutie, Rainbow Dash dons a sports headband, a whistle, and later a martial arts uniform with a black belt when Apple Bloom tries karate. Scootaloo, the Pegasus pony of the Cutie Mark Crusaders, idolizes Rainbow Dash. While Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle are the younger sisters of two ponies from the main cast, Applejack and Rarity, respectively, Scootaloo is not related to Rainbow Dash. Rainbow Dash affectionately calls Scootaloo "squirt" in Owl's Well That Ends Well and The Mysterious Mare Do Well, and appears alongside Rarity and Applejack to congratulate the Cutie Mark Crusaders for their performance during The Show Stoppers. In Sleepless in Ponyville, Scootaloo invites Rainbow Dash on a camping trip so that they can bond more. However, when Rainbow Dash decides to tell everyone ghost stories, Scootaloo begins to have nightmares about the frightening fables; yet she is too afraid to tell Rainbow Dash, since the filly does not want her to think she's a wimp. When Scootaloo rides on her scooter in the middle of the night, trying to run away from the "Headless Horse" from one of the stories, she accidentally falls into the river and almost falls down a waterfall. Rainbow Dash rescues her, and then learns the truth about why Scootaloo has been acting nervous during the trip. She comforts Scootaloo, saying that even'' she'' was scared when she heard those stories, and she agrees to take care of her as a big sister figure. In Flight to the Finish, Rainbow Dash is coaching the Crusaders for their competition to carry the flag at the upcoming Equestria Games. She wears a baseball cap and a whistle during the majority of this episode, like in May the Best Pet Win! and Hurricane Fluttershy. Ponyville Rainbow Dash manages the weather in Ponyville. She keeps the skies free of clouds for the Summer Sun Celebration, and apparently, unless the weekly rainfall is scheduled for that day of course, makes sure that Ponyville has nice weather, although in the opening of Bridle Gossip, Spike states that she rarely gets up early in the morning to get a start on it. She lives in a cloud-house near Ponyville, which has the same design elements as her hometown, Cloudsdale. Rainbow Dash is one of several ponies badgering Twilight for the extra ticket to the Grand Galloping Gala, in The Ticket Master. Her reason is a chance to audition for The Wonderbolts who would presumably perform there. She persists, even when Twilight calls her out on it, and when all her other friends say they don't need the ticket. The Wonderbolts do appear at the Gala in The Best Night Ever, although their performance is not shown, and they are only seen mingling with the guests in a VIP section, but Dash doesn't manage to secure their attention, despite her several attempts. In The Mysterious Mare Do Well, she saves a dirty filly who thanks her for the rescue from the deserted well. Wonderbolts Academy Rainbow Dash was accepted into the Wonderbolts Academy for a week. She made friendship with a Pegasus pony called Lightning Dust, and were paired up by the captain of the Wonderbolts, Spitfire to complete the boot camp exercises. In the challenge of obliterate the clouds, Lighting Dust tried to complete the task quicker by creating a tornado. Unfortunately the tornado almost hurts Twilight Sparkle, Pinkie Pie, Rarity, Applejack and Fluttershy when they come to visit her in the hot air balloon. Rainbow Dash saves them just in time, injuring her wing in the process. She decided to quit the academy thinking they reward cadets for being reckless. But Spitfire catches up to her and informs her that being the best should never come at the expense of their fellow ponies. Being elite isn't about pushing oneself, it's about pushing oneself in the right direction, which Rainbow Dash has demonstrated. Because of this she was awarded the lead pony badge. Tank Rainbow Dash is the last of the main ponies to have a pet introduced in the series, only gaining her pet, Tank the tortoise, in the episode May the Best Pet Win! in the second season. While at first Dash looks down on Tank for not being as fast, agile, or "awesome" as her other prospective pets, she eventually picks him over the others for his loyalty. While all the other prospective pets hurried to the finish line and ignored Dash's calls for help, Tank rescues her by releasing her trapped wing from under a boulder. He carries her all the way to the finish line, and secures his place as her pet for being the only competitor that crossed the finish line with her, as she specified before the race. Family In Games Ponies Play, during her flashback as a filly, Rainbow Dash is shown standing on the back of an adult Pegasus stallion with a similarly rainbow-colored mane and tail. Her relationship to the stallion is not explicitly referred to. Residence Rainbow Dash's home is first shown in Griffon the Brush Off. She lives in a white cloud-house hanging low to the ground somewhere near Ponyville. It features classical columns and rainbow-colored streams and waterfalls. In Dragonshy, Rainbow Dash uses one of these streams to make rainbow-colored facepaint. Her home is shown again in Party of One, with a slightly different design from the first appearance, resembling more of a cloud tower. The interior is shown in Swarm of the Century, and her bedroom is shown at the end of Read It and Weep. The exterior is shown again at the beginning of Wonderbolts Academy, along with her mailbox underneath it. The inside is shown once more at the end of Daring Don't. Rainbow Dash's residence cropped S1E05.png|Dash's home in Griffon the Brush Off Rainbow Dash home S1E10.png|Dash's home in Swarm of the Century Rainbow Dash sleeping in the bed S01E10.png|A part of Rainbow Dash's house Rainbow Dash home S1E25.png|Dash's home, in Party of One Rainbow Dash reading the next book S2E16.png|Rainbow Dash's bedroom. Rainbow Dash's house S3E7.png|Rainbow Dash's house in Wonderbolts Academy Depiction in films ''My Little Pony Equestria Girls'' In My Little Pony Equestria Girls, the human version of Rainbow is Canterlot's High's resident jock, being captain of all the school's sports teams. She used to be friends with the human counterparts of the main six, but they were driven apart by the machinations of Sunset Shimmer. At Twilight Sparkle's urging, Applejack reveals the truth, and they reconcile. Rainbow tells Twilight that she will only help her become Princess of the Fall Formal if she beats her in a soccer match, with the first to make five goals winning. Rainbow easily wins, but helps Twilight anyway, telling her that she was testing her determination. When Twilight invokes the power of the element of magic, Rainbow gains pony ears and wings. After Sunset Shimmer is defeated, Rainbow flies around at the dance, picking up the human Scootaloo and giving her a ride. When the portal to Equestria closes after Twilight's departure, Rainbow's wings and pony ears vanish. ''Equestria Girls: Rainbow Rocks'' The human version of Rainbow Dash reappears in the trailer for the sequel My Little Pony Equestria Girls: Rainbow Rocks, where she plays lead guitar in the band. Other depictions Hasbro.com description Capable and athletic, Rainbow Dash lives for adventure! When any problem should arise that involves traveling to distant lands or dealing with a magical, mysterious beast, Rainbow is the first to volunteer! Brave and bold, anypony who has ever seen this rainbow-haired Pegasus in the air has been left in jaw-dropped awe of her speed, agility, and, well, her confidence. She's quite positive she's the fastest Pegasus pony alive, and truth be told, she probably is. Yes, she's a bit proud, and a bit mischievous, and often lazy for somepony obsessed with speed, but when the chips are down, and danger is a-brewing, Rainbow Dash always, always comes through, proving time and time again that she is a true hero! Hasbro.com second description Rainbow Dash's greatest, all-consuming passion in life is to fly – FAST! Anyone who has ever seen this rainbow-haired pegasus in the air can't help but notice her speed, agility, and her confidence. Capable and athletic, Rainbow Dash lives for adventure. One day, Rainbow Dash just knows she'll earn a position on the elite aerial-acrobatic team, the Wonderbolts! But beyond ambition, Rainbow Dash is known for being absolutely loyal to her friends! Hasbro.com Equestria Girls description Rainbow Dash is Canterlot high’s spirited and sporty superstar. She also happens to be the captain of just about every sports team at school. You’d have to look really hard to find a trophy that doesn’t have her name on it. The only thing Rainbow Dash values more than winning is loyalty. So now she’s teaming up with Twilight Sparkle and the rest of her gal pals to take back the crown from Sunset Shimmer and restore harmony in Canterlot. Because Rainbow Dash knows that there’s no ‘I’ in team, but there is in friendship. HubNetwork.com description Rainbow Dash lives for adventure! Whenever there's a problem that involves danger, distant lands, and mysterious beasts, she's the first to help. She's bold. She's brave. She's also a bit proud and mischievous -- but wouldn't you be too if you were the fastest Pegasus around? Teacher for a Day description Rainbow Dash is her name and adventure is her game! A true hero, this rainbow-haired Pegasus pony is as fast as they come, flying through the air with jaw-dropping speed! Athletic, brave and confident, she is also a bit mischievous - and always first on the scene wherever danger is at hand. Whether traveling to distant lands or taking on mystery and magic, this pretty pony is ready to fasten her seatbelt for the adventure of a lifetime! My Little Pony mobile game description Representing the Element of Loyalty, she is charged with keeping the weather. Her dream is to one day join the Wonderbolts. My Little Pony magazine description *''Sporty'' *''Athletic'' *''Adventurous'' This strong mare lives for adventure! Rainbow Dash is the first to volunteer for a dangerous task, the fastest pony in Ponyville and a true pony hero! The Elements of Harmony guidebook ''RAINBOW DASH has one great all-consuming passion in life: to fly—FAST!!! Anypony who has ever seen this rainbow-haired Pegasus from Cloudsdale in the air has been in awe of her speed, agility, and confidence. Even in her youth, Rainbow was a fantastic flier, achieving what no other Pegasus had before—the Sonic Rainboom, a rainbow that shot out behind her like a jet stream! When any problem, big or small, arises, this aspiring Wonderbolt is the first to volunteer to save the day. Despite the mischief she causes, her friends are happy to have her around when danger is a-brewing, as Rainbow Dash proves time and time again that she is a true hero and a true friend.'' Appearances Quotes Gallery See also *Toys and merchandise * * References de:Rainbow Dash es:Rainbow Dash fr:Rainbow Dash it:Rainbow Dash ja:レインボーダッシュ no:Rainbow Dash pl:Rainbow Dash ru:Рэйнбоу Дэш sv:Rainbow Dash zh:雲寶 Category:Featured articles